China is clamping down on smaller bitcoin trading channels

Pre-orders of iPhone 5s begin in China, selling out

While Apple is not offering pre-orders of the iPhone 5s in the United States or other western countries, that's not the case in China and Hong Kong, where the device has practically sold out already.

As noted by MacRumors, Apple likely decided to offer pre-orders of the iPhone 5s in China to thwart scalpers, who frequently line up to buy huge numbers of iPhones which they then sell for a profit. The site also notes that while there is still an available supply of most iPhone 5c's, all but the 16 GB "Space Gray" iPhone 5s has sold out.

The iPhone 5s will be available in the US and other countries on September 20 at 12:01AM local time if you are ordering from Apple.com, or at 8AM local time if you are buying it at an Apple retail store.